Giotto's Darkness
by Sydella
Summary: Giotto writes a letter to Tsuna and reveals a couple of surprising secrets.


To My True Successor:

The day of your inheritance approaches. When you sit on the Vongola's throne as nine generations before you have done, you will restore our _famiglia _to full glory and finally wrest control of it back from that villain of villains, Secondo who is the bane of my existence. I have not felt such anticipation for a long time. However, before you ascend to the throne, there is much I must tell you.

Firstly, my dear Decimo, I urge you to close your ears to all those who would have you believe that I was a godlike being, a perfectly wonderful and unstoppable force of nature. To have so much reverence for another human is dangerous. I have said and done things that I am not proud of. I look over your shoulder, unseen, when you read our _famiglia_'s records, and I know how your eyes light up when the books claim that I was as great as any emperor, perhaps even greater. Far be it from me to shatter a good child's admiring beliefs-I was once fourteen myself, after all, and I remember boyhood all too well-but I detest lies and have too much respect for you to allow you to continue believing fairy tales. This brings me to my next point.

Your companions would have you believe that compassion is all that is necessary to lead and rule. Not so. Of course, it is hardly necessary to harden your heart like Secondo did and crush your opponents with brute force. Eight generations did that and look where that has gotten us. Nonetheless, being a don means that there will always be times when you have to be cruel to be kind. The sky welcomes all but is also unforgiving at times, sending the elements to the earth to punish mere mortals. You understand, don't you, little Decimo? How kindness and cruelty can co-exist in one's heart.

…but I am getting ahead of myself. Neo Vongola Primo you may be, but you will surely travel down a path of your own, similar to yet also different from mine. Will you ever find it in you to be cruel, I wonder? To look into a person's eyes and be the one to snuff out their life, their hopes and dreams?

Daemon pinned all his hopes and dreams on me. I do not quite blame him for that. Many people looked to me as a beacon of hope in those days. They wanted me to be a lighthouse for them, even though they kept flinging themselves on the rocks like suicidal masochists.

It is difficult and painful to be a saviour, Decimo. It is so wearying that I would not wish it upon my worst enemies, and I would certainly never wish it upon you.

Returning to the subject of Daemon…he was a troublesome man, Decimo, as you already know. Truth be told, his betrayal did not surprise me. I did genuinely care for him and I still do, but I know a lost cause when I see one. Some people are simply irredeemable. Small wonder that he preferred Secondo to me. Both Daemon and Secondo were men of darkness; they lived and died as dictators, always searching for something that eluded their grasp. Did you know that I have seriously considered killing Daemon?

Ah, and here we come to the crux of this letter. Here I will reveal to you my darkness, Decimo. Yes, I have toyed with the notion of killing my own Mist Guardian. In my heart of hearts, I believed that I would be sparing him from a terrible fate he would inevitably inflict on himself. I wanted to save him. I wanted to believe that he was not past the point of redemption.

I know what you are thinking at this point. Daemon managed to make himself so powerful, it is plausible that even if I had carried out my plans to kill him, he would have defeated me. But I am not to be underestimated, my dear Decimo. I am the founding father of the Vongola and isn't it the duty of a good father to punish his children when necessary?

Forgive me for the crude analogy. I am well aware of your, shall we say, problematic relationship with Iemitsu. All the same, this is a comparison I feel compelled to make. For all his flaws, Iemitsu has not once failed in his duty as a member of our _famiglia_. He is, at the very least, a worthy successor of Alaude at the headship of CEDEF. He knows what must be done and does everything with unwavering conviction. Similarly, I kept the Vongola in line to the best of my ability, and that included defending myself against Daemon's attempts to thwart me.

So, yes. I did once have a desire to kill Daemon. But then, it occurred to me that even if he did perish by my hands, he would still find a way to return. Men like him are much like hydras, the infamous monsters of Greek legend who have multiple heads and grow another head when one is severed. You have seen for yourself how disfigured he became, a shadow of his former self and corrupted from within. In the end, after much deliberation, I decided to abandon him to whatever cruel fate awaited him. A heartless thing to do, you say? I agree. I do not deny that I hated him as much as I loved him. There is a fine line between love and hate, and I crossed that line oh so many times.

After he and I had both died, we began to play a long and dangerous game. Warfare does not end even after sinners are lowered into the ground or turned into ashes dancing in the wind. We were two kings on a chessboard trying to turn each other into pawns, and I won. I put him in checkmate the second you, my true successor, arrived in this world. You see, Decimo, there is a fundamental truth about the Mafia, the great beast that rampages gleefully across the world, leaving a trail of destruction in its wake.

_Play with fire, and you'll get what you deserve._

Daemon certainly got what he deserved.

I am not a forgiving saint who shelters others within the folds of my cloak and breathes gentle words into their ears. I leave such acts of unfailing mercy to men like Knuckle and women like Elena, who witnessed things no kind soul should ever have to endure yet never lost their faith in the inherent goodness of the world and of people. Cynicism can take root from a young age, and for me it became a weed that I watered and pretended not to notice. I pray that you will not repeat my mistakes.

You are still young, Decimo. Still undamaged. In you, I see myself and so much more. I love the past that you have been through, the present you dwell in and the future you will bring. I love you.

The shaman queens of the Giglio Nero whisper to me about the great things you will do. Secure in this knowledge, I leave the Vongola in your hands.

Your loving ancestor,

Primo (Ieyasu Sawada)


End file.
